The death penalty is a cruel, futile and dangerous punishment, and the Asian region is home to some of the world's leading executioners.
This blog provides information about the death penalty in Asia, supporting the campaign to end executions in the region.

Monday, 3 September 2007

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has launched a global petition as part of the campaign for an international moratorium on executions.

The petition calls on all governments to "work for a world free of executions" and to vote in favour of a proposed resolution to be presented to the UN General Assembly later this year.

The resolution will call for a suspension of executions as a step towards the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.

According to the World Coalition's website, the proposed moratorium "would save lives and give the population of retentionist states an opportunity to see for themselves that a pause in death sentences does not lead to higher crime rates".

"A resolution by the UN highest political body would be an important international milestone in the campaign to abolish the death penalty worldwide and would carry considerable moral weight."

In recognition of the five million people who signed the ‘Moratorium 2000’ petition launched by the Community of Sant’Egidio and Amnesty International,

Renew the call for a worldwide moratorium on executions and an end to capital punishment in the belief that the death penalty:

- Violates the universally affirmed right to life ;

- Constitutes the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment ;

- Constantly risks the irreversible error of the execution of an innocent person ;

- Provides no added value to the deterrence of crime ;

- Brutalises those societies that employ state sanctioned judicial killing.

We welcome the strong progress already made towards a global end to capital punishment and acknowledge that 130 nations have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

We invite all governments to work for a world free of executions as a contribution to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. We call upon the member states of the UN General Assembly to overwhelmingly vote in favour of an international moratorium on executions.